Texas has more automobile accidents, injuries, and fatalities than every other state but California. Austin Accident Lawyer Andrew Traub shares insights on pushing back against insurance companies.
Andrew Traub, the principal attorney behind Austin Accident Lawyer, was recently a featured guest on The Attorney Post, a podcast for personal injury attorneys. In the podcast he discussed some of the biggest obstacles he faces when handling Texas truck & car accident cases, particularly ones where the amount able to be paid out by insurance puts an artificially low ceiling on a case where an individual needs more significant compensation due to the severity of the injuries and damages from the car or truck accident, and how he has been able to get some of his clients significant, $4 million dollar settlements when the insurance seemed unfairly low, often capped at or below $100,000, which covers everything from lost wages to ongoing physical therapy.
The Personal Injury Law Office of Andrew Traub (aka, "The Austin Accident Lawyer") can be reached for a free consultation by calling the Austin Accident Lawyer Hotline at (512) 246-9191, on Google, or by visiting his website below.
The Texas Department of Transportation shared recently that in 2021, there were around 1.56 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, which was up 4.17% from the previous year. There were 15.22% more total deaths from traffic accidents in 2021, at 4,489, up from the 3,896 deaths in 2020. There were unfortunately no "deathless" days in Texas in 2021, and the year averaged one death ever 1 hour and 57 minutes.
TXDOT also shared that there was a 15.24% increase in pedestrian fatalities in 2021 vs 2020, at 824, and 521 and 90 motorcyclist and "pedalcyclist" fatalities, respectively. These include 1,077 fatalities where a driver was under the influence of alcohol, which was nearly 1 in 4 of the total number of people killed. Fortunately, no children under 10 died in 2021, and a total of 40 minors under 17 died. There were also 433 people killed in crashes involving distracted driving. This is a 17.34% decrease from 2020.
Death is certainly the worst outcome from an accident, but many persons were injured, too. These were out of 15,764 serious injury crashes, in which 19,448 crash victims were recorded as having sustained a serious injury. In Texas, in 2021, one person was injured every 2 minutes and 12 seconds, out of 1 reportable crash every 57 seconds.
Injuries sustained in a traffic accident can leave individuals with significant medical expenses and bills, rehabilitation bills, lost wages, property damage, and potentially individuals can be left unable to work for a period of time - sometimes indefinitely. In these situations, the principal place for financial compensation comes from the insurance carried by the motorists involved in the accidents, but that insurance is often capped at what can seem an unjustly low number, and often times insurance companies are remiss to pay even that cap. It can be helpful, when dealing with insurance companies, to have a competent attorney who can act as a liaison with the insurance company, when seeking to pursue a settlement, and who can represent the injured party or parties should the matter need to be resolved in court. Some cases are far harder to prosecute, including cases with uninsured motorists, or hit-and-runs (which can comprise nearly 1 in 5 accidents).
Traub - a personal injury lawyer who specializes in Texas motor vehicle injury law and commercial truck accidents - has made numerous resources available on his website for free to Texans injured in a motor vehicle collision. A spokesperson for the law firm shared that one of the most popular reports, the Free Texas Accident Report, provides information that is "a little more in depth than the typical 'seek medical care from medical professionals if injured;' and 'don't talk to anyone but file a police report,' boilerplate auto accident advice most injury attorney websites give." like most experienced car accident attorneys, Traub offers a free consultation for accident victims to discuss their motor vehicle accident claims, how to proceed with things like insurance claims, and like most attorneys, Traub works on a contingency fee basis with no upfront costs. He says he seeks to help all of his potential clients get a fair settlement for their legal claims, and that fair compensation for their personal injury claim should be viewed as their right.
